Connelly Springs is a town in Burke County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. The population was 1,669 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

– Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The first settler on record in the area was William Lewis Connelly, a colonel in the North Carolina militia, for whom the town was named. In 1838, Colonel Connelly built a log home and operated a way station where fresh horses could be made available for the stagecoach line that ran from

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

to Asheville. He also took in boarders who were looking to spend a night during a long journey. During this time, a settlement grew up around the way station, which was then known as Happy Home, and a post office was established.Heather Fearnbach
Historic Store Context: Historic Architectural Resources Survey Report
April 2012, p. 12. In 1885, the area was found to have a mineral spring, thought to be beneficial in healing a large number of diseases. Mrs. Elmira Connelly opened her spring to others, and before long people were arriving by horse and wagon, and by train, to cart water away in five-gallon demijohns. The popularity of Mrs. Connelly's mineral spring led to the construction of the Connelly Mineral Springs Hotel, a 50-room hotel that was built along the railroad tracks, and near the mineral spring discovered by Mrs. Connelly. As the town grew, it became known as Connelly Springs, and was incorporated as such on May 4, 1920.

Geography

Connelly Springs is located in eastern Burke County. It is bordered to the west by the town of Rutherford College and to the north by Rhodhiss Lake on the Catawba River.

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

forms part of the southern boundary of the town and leads east to

and west to Morganton. U.S. Route 70 is the main local road through the town. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,529 people, 727 households, and 473 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,814 people, 695 households, and 508 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 752 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.08%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.65%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 7.39% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.22% of the population. There were 695 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,889, and the median income for a family was $39,500. Males had a median income of $28,065 versus $20,608 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $14,451. About 9.5% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Town website
{{Authority control Towns in Burke County, North Carolina North Carolina populated places on the Catawba River